Lascivious
by Ourliazo
Summary: Reborn honestly loves his Dame boyfriend, even if Tsuna is a little crazy. Except no, Tsuna is not crazy, he is a genuine vampire hunter and he will stake the next b!tch who tries to eat his boyfriend.
1. I

Title: Lascivious

Summary: Reborn honestly loves his Dame boyfriend, even if Tsuna is a little crazy. Except no, Tsuna is not crazy, he is a genuine vampire hunter and he will stake the next b!tch who tries to eat his boyfriend.

Background: Vampire AU.

.

* * *

"There's nothing wrong with your hair," Reborn reassures the fretful bartender, fingers tapping against the condensation of his glass.

Lambo frowns and pulls at his braids. "But you just said…"

"I didn't mean anything," Reborn shrugs and takes a sip of his bourbon. "I just said 'are you really going with that style?' and nothing else. You're the one freaking out."

Lambo groans. "But you said it in that stupid voice of yours!"

"What voice?" Reborn scoffs. "I have one voice, cow."

"Your damn condescending voice!" Lambo snaps, slamming his hands down on the bench that encircles the wall of alcohol on display. "It's worse than the one you use when you're lying and you want everyone else to know it!"

Reborn smirks. "I don't know what you're talking about," he states, using the exact voice Lambo just described.

The bartender very calmly starts banging his head against the bench, making the abandoned glasses further along shake. Reborn reaches over and pats Lambo on the head patronisingly before standing from the bar stool and wandering across the room to re-join the gambling table that's tucked into the back corner.

Xanxus looks up from his cards when Reborn sits down and then raises an eyebrow. "Did you pay for that drink?"

"The cow is easily distracted," is all Reborn says.

Byakuran chuckles and deals Reborn some cards as well. "You know Tsunayoshi is going to come in here and pay for you anyway, right?"

Reborn hums and stares at his cards, his eyes quickly adjusting to the bad lighting this far back in the room. "I'm slowly training him out of that habit. Whose turn first?"

"Mine," Squalo grumbles. "Shit. Any red twos, snowflake?"

"Go fish, cripple," Byakuran shoots back.

Squalo scowls and raises his arm, the hand replaced by a sword. "I like to think of it as an upgrade," he hisses. "Would you like me to _upgrade_ your face?"

"Hold on," Reborn interrupts in amusement. "Why are we playing Go Fish? I leave for a month and you've resorted to Go Fish."

Xanxus scoffs loudly. "Like fuck I'm playing Poker with you around."

"You've finally learned," Reborn drawls.

"We could always play Pick Up Fifty-Two," Xanxus threatens. "Now shut up and play the fucking game or leave."

Reborn smirks. "Any red sixes, Xanxus? Oh, and the black ten while you're at it?"

Xanxus takes a deep breath and then throws his cards down. "We're playing Cucumber now."

"Sore loser," Squalo mutters under his breath and then smiles brightly when Xanxus looks like he's about to lunge across the table and strangle the silver-haired man.

* * *

Reborn wakes late in the afternoon, spread out in the middle of a large bed. A hand is running through his hair and someone is softly telling him to wake up. He opens his eyes and finds an angel peering down at him, an exasperated expression on the heavenly being's face.

Reborn reaches up and immediately snatches away the hot mug of espresso the angel carries, taking a gulp despite it burning his tongue.

Tsuna laughs. "I know you haven't seen them in a while, but if you end up stumbling home at six in the morning and shove a handful of cash down my pants, then maybe they're a bad influence."

Reborn huffs and sits up against the headboard so he can drink easier. "You're the one who introduced me to them. I just wandered into town a year ago, all innocent-"

Tsuna snorts. "Yeah, innocent. Reborn, I bet you were a terror even as a baby. The Antichrist. Admit it, you ate kitten souls-"

Reborn stops the rant by wrapping an arm around the other man and pulling him into a hug. "I didn't think I'd stay out that long," Reborn admits, resting his head against Tsuna's. "Happy anniversary, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna rolls his eyes. "That was sweet, and then you called me Dame."

"It's a pet name," Reborn chuckles, continuing the old argument. "Like Useless-Dino."

"Please don't give pet names to my brother," Tsuna deadpans. "Instead, you should tell me where my anniversary present is."

Reborn places the mug on the nightstand and then slides under the sheets again. "Or we could go back to sleep and do the anniversary thing tomorrow."

"No," Tsuna whines jokingly, planting his hands on Reborn's chest and shaking the man. "Now, Reborn. I want it now."

"I don't sound like that," Reborn huffs.

"You do," Tsuna snickers, cuddling into Reborn's shoulder. "Every time you want espresso but you're too lazy to get up. Even when we were at my parent's house, the entire month was just; c'mon Dame-Tsuna, I'm your lover, love meeeeee-"

"In Leon's terrarium," Reborn finally admits, just to make the other shut up.

Tsuna rolls out of bed and darts into the living room where said lizard is splayed out in the middle of his sunning rock, much like his owner was a few minutes ago. Tsuna very gently reaches into the huge glass tank almost wider that Tsuna is tall, and feels around in the shrubbery before pulling out a small wrapped present.

He quickly rips open the wrapping paper and the box then comes to a complete halt when he sees a gorgeous blue knife with his name etched in Reborn's neat cursive along the blade. It's as long as his forearm with a wicked curve at the end, meant for the quick slashes that Tsuna's fighting style favours.

"Oh," Tsuna breathes out. "It's beautiful." He very carefully walks back into the bedroom, to the shared wall rack that holds different guns and knives, before placing the newest one on an empty shelf. He then crawls back into bed and just admires the view for a moment.

"I'm getting jealous," Reborn murmurs. "Why stare at a knife when you can stare at me?"

"Yes, yes, you're handsome as well," Tsuna sighs jokingly.

Reborn is actually very nice to look at, so they don't leave the bed for a few more hours as Tsuna maps every centimetre of Reborn's skin with eyes and fingers and tongue.

* * *

.

A/N: This fic will move quickly since it was originally supposed to be a one-shot but eventually got too long. This a prologue chapter, just setting up the character relationships (and creating precedent for Reborn's sass) so the conflict will come in next chapter. Also, to be honest, I actually don't like romance all that much so this is as cutesy as they're getting (and it's already making me gag a little).

Good? Bad? Do you know any good card games?


	2. really

"The Skylarks are heading this way," Tsuna announces suddenly.

Everyone in the basement meeting room goes dead quiet, several people frozen in the middle of sitting down. I-pin quickly shuts the door and locks it so no one can overhear, and since none of the noise from the bar above reaches down to them, the sudden silence seems like an ominous sign.

"What do you mean 'Skylarks'?" Zakuro asks cautiously. "Like the bird?"

"Please say it's not the bird, because I really want to kill one of them," Belphegor says from the back of the room.

People start grinning with far too much killing intent.

The Skylark brothers are the most wanted vampire coven in the eyes of the Vongola. They're strong, old, and entire towns have been wiped out on their whim. A century ago they murdered the hunters to near extinction before they just got bored one day and disappeared again. It's never a good thing to be anywhere near them.

However, this town is home to several very vicious hunters who take great pleasure in ripping the fangs right out of a vampire's skull.

Tsuna sighs. "Calm down, I haven't finished yet. The Vongola Ninth has good reason to suspect that the brothers are heading in this direction. They might pass through, they might go around-"

"Or they might turn around and we don't have to worry," Lambo tries.

"It doesn't matter if they try to leave, we still have to complete the mission," Tsuna says, rather regretfully because he doesn't want any of his friends to get hurt. "The Skylarks almost wiped out the Vindice a few months ago, they've gone too far."

Squalo scoffs. "No one gives a fuck about the Vindice."

"It's not about the Vindice," Hayato snaps at Squalo for questioning Tsuna. "It's about blatantly attacking a hunter base. The Skylarks are too strong anyway, it's about time they're killed."

Tsuna hums. "And we have that… pleasure."

"Oh," Takeshi suddenly says. "I almost forgot. A couple hunter groups request permission to continue into the town and try to ambush the brothers in Namimori forest."

Several people face palm.

"How long ago was this?" Hayato asks.

"Just this afternoon," Takeshi laughs carelessly.

"Which hunters?" Bluebell demands.

"Shimon and Arcobaleno."

"Arcobaleno?" Byakuran echoes, a smile coming to his face. "My, this will be fun."

"Don't let them in," Xanxus half orders. "This is Vongola territory, they can fuck off. We'll deal with the trash ourselves."

"We're all hunters," Kikyo argues. "Why not work together? Get more eyes to look?"

Belphegor scoffs. "More eyes won't do shit if they're all blind."

Lussuria hums in concern. "Plus, none of the groups work together well – they'll storm in here and demand we follow their lead."

"Juudaime?" Hayato asks. "What do you think?"

Tsuna frowns in concentration. "Let the other hunters in. It'll be worse if they try to go around our backs. We'll pool our information together but, in the end, they do their thing and we'll do ours."

Xanxus grumbles in annoyance and his Varia don't look very happy, but everyone else seems amiable to the decision.

"Hayato, can you schedule a meeting with the other groups?" Tsuna continues. "Preferably as soon as possible since we don't know where the brothers are. The Ninth said maybe a week, but that's probably pushing it if the other groups are already here."

"Got it, Juudaime!" Hayato chirps happily.

"Wonderful," Tsuna says, clapping his hands together. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a Reborn to get home to and cuddle."

"Reborn's gone to the next town," Byakuran corrects. "He said something about a tailor."

Tsuna pouts. Honestly, sometimes the man loves his suits more than he loves Tsuna.

He tries very hard to not think about the possibility of Reborn being attacked by the vampires. The man will be fine, and Tsuna is worrying for nothing.

* * *

"Namimori is… not as impressive as I thought it would be," Colonnello says.

The Arcobaleno are scattered around a forest clearing just off to the side of the town, waiting for confirmation. They could just go in, but Lal doesn't want to give a bad first impression to the Vongola.

Verde hums as he cleans his glasses with the inside of his lab coat. "It's not like the Vongola own the town."

"But the Decimo lives here," Colonnello argues. "Surely they should have better protection, at least some kind of sentry set up. Hell, the road here was mostly dirt instead of tarmac."

"That's a good point," Viper says sarcastically. "I want proper roads or I won't take them seriously."

Skull snickers and Colonnello hurls a rock at him.

Lal ignores them all with practiced ease and rolls up the note from Luce, who's back in the main Arcobaleno base. Aria is talking with the Vongola Ninth, trying to get permission to spearhead this operation with the Vongola as backup, but the old man seems to be deferring to the Tenth's wishes.

Uni is speaking with the Vatican, but as always, they're staying out of it, completely okay with just letting the hunter groups run around despite constantly insisting that the Vatican are the ones in charge.

"Not good?" Viper asks after seeing the irritation on Lal's face.

"If they don't let us in, we'll have to convince them," Lal mutters.

* * *

.

A/N: There are four Hibaris in this, by the way. Can you guess who XD?


	3. do

Alaude pulls the collar of his coat even higher and keeps walking past the loud coughing of a half dead car. The rusted structure smells strongly of cigarettes and bad body odour despite the windows being up as it rattles down the road, driven by a large man with an equally large scent.

The platinum blond sends a sideways glance at his oldest brother, a look filled with annoyance. This town is even more akin to a cess-pool than the ones they normally visit.

Fon just smiles serenely, his long braid swaying behind him, barely more than a shadow in the dark of night. The humans still out at this hour -idiots or sinners or both- stare at the strange man wearing what they assume to be a red dress with long cuts up the side.

If someone had asked, Fon would happily reply that he is wearing a traditional Chinese tunic called a changshan. No one asks, and like always they titter to themselves, pointing at Fon and murmuring rather unflattering observations.

"We should kill all of the herbivores," Kyouya mutters, his voice muffled since the youngest brother is trying his hardest to block out the smell of dirty humans with his hand.

"Seconded," Hibarin drawls, casting a particularly dark look at a man a hundred meters in front -far enough that a normal human couldn't hear a thing- who seems to be gossiping about Fon's 'sexual deviancy' to the hooker on his arm.

"At least wear a coat next time," Alaude grumbles, looking pointedly at the two younger brothers behind him who are also entirely covered like the blond is.

The oldest hums without a care. "We've just arrived, we should tour around a little."

" _Or_ ," Hibarin begins forcefully. "We could get the food quickly and go back to our perfectly _lovely_ house-"

"-far away from these herbivores," Kyouya finishes for his twin.

"Don't do that," Alaude snaps over his shoulder. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do-

"-what-"

"-brother?"

Fon reaches out and snags the back of Alaude's coat, stopping the blond from lunging at the twins. "Now, now, let's not get distracted. I think I've found something."

The other three pause and take deep inhales. Past the sweat and waste and the mix of disgusting smells coming from brothels, the brothers detect something _delicious_. It's all dark and savoury, a filling meal, strong and fierce and dangerous. There's a hint of cold metal and gunpowder and even freshly drawn blood. It's the seconds before a killer strikes; cruel amusement and sick pleasure.

In unison, they turn left, eyes flashing red and teeth lengthening to sharp points.

* * *

Reborn steps out of the shop with a bounce to his step. Haru really is the best seamstress he's found and the new suit designs look sleek and handsome. She's a fast worker as well (then again, Reborn pays to be priority) so the entire ensemble should be done in only a few days.

He takes the shortcut through a couple of crumbling buildings. This town is slowly emptying out as more and more people flock to Namimori instead since there's a strangely high number of imported goods and luxuries for such a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Reborn isn't sure what it is that alerts him, but suddenly he's tensing up, straining his ears for a noise.

The town is quiet, the lack of noise from decay instead of peace. No footsteps, no slide of a knife against its sheath, no quiet _snick_ of a gun chamber loading. Yet Reborn still reaches for the firearm inside his suit jacket.

He turns deeper into empty streets, not wanting any witnesses. It's a tense wait that drags out. Reborn almost convinces himself that he imagined it and half turns to walk back into the main thoroughfare.

They drop from above, four of them, closely related if their similar features meant anything. The three with coats charge immediately while the one in a red tunic hangs back to watch.

Reborn ducks the first grab and pops a bullet into the blond one's knee. They can't possibly be regular street thugs, so he'll try and leave them alive until he knows who sent them.

The blond makes a strangled sound, more out of shock than pain, and leaps back before looking down at his leg. The two twins pull out a pair of tonfas each and grin with the same bloodthirst that all killers can't help but give out.

Reborn smiles right back.

They're fast and strong and work well together, even seamlessly integrating the blond when he steps back in. Either Reborn's aim was off or the blond has the ability to push through being kneecapped. Whatever it is, the blond doesn't even limp slightly and he even seems to stop bleeding after a while.

The world turns to a blur around Reborn and he's forced to move faster and faster to avoid their hits. They appear shocked that Reborn can move this quick and hit this hard. It feels so odd to be underestimated.

As Reborn sidesteps a tonfa, he realises that maybe he had underestimated them as well. They're keeping up with him, matching him even, so he needs to end this before one gets a lucky shot in and Tsuna ends up fretting over Reborn for the next month.

The man wearing red apparently loses his patience and steps in. The three others glance to their fourth for a split second and that's all Reborn needs.

The twins go down one after another with bullets to the head. Reborn lets the blond knock his gun out of his hand, then slides in behind instead to snap the man's neck. Red tackles Reborn down and they roll through the empty street. Reborn takes a punch to the chest that almost caves his ribs and stabs red in the neck with a knife hidden up his sleeve.

Reborn staggers up, collects his weapons, and walks away with several fractured ribs and a broken left forearm. The rest is bruises and scrapes, easily dealt with.

He's a bit annoyed with himself. He should have killed them immediately to not get hurt in the first place. Too late now, but he'll keep it in mind for the next time someone feels suicidal enough to challenge the greatest.

If Reborn had looked back, then he would have seen the bodies slowly start to piece themselves together.

* * *

.

A/N: Of course the fourth Skylark is Hibarin. I can't write a vampire AU without the only literal vampire in the KHR series.


	4. not

Reborn goes to Shamal's 'women only' clinic and slumps into the chair the man directs him to. Shamal mutters something about Reborn needing to wear a dress next time he comes. There's nothing so much as a flinch as the doctor realigns Reborn's bone and then wraps it and his ribs.

"No cast," Reborn says when Shamal begins to reach for the shelves full of supplies. "I don't want Tsuna to know."

Shamal leans back and sighs. "If he asks me, I'm telling him."

Reborn hums, a carefully neutral sound. He's not focused on the conversation or the room. He's far more invested in figuring out who hired those hitmen to kill Reborn. He didn't recognise the four, but surely people that good have made a name for themselves.

* * *

Tsuna perks up when he hears the door opening, the bells hooked around the handle ringing happily. The brunet hops off the couch and darts over before jumping at his lover, expecting Reborn to catch him. Reborn steps out of the way with a smirk and Tsuna hits the ground hard.

Tsuna groans and picks himself up off the floor. "Thanks," he deadpans. "I love you so much."

"Love you too," Reborn calls over his shoulder, already in the kitchen and making himself some espresso.

Tsuna sighs and flops back onto the couch, picking up his book again. Reborn wanders over a moment later, mug in hand. He picks up Tsuna's feet so he can sit down and then lays the feet in his lap. His arm does not like that, but Reborn ignores the pain and relaxes back into the couch, trying to keep pressure off his fractured ribs.

Meanwhile, Tsuna can't concentrate at all on his book, just like the rest of the day. He doesn't even know why he's reading. He doesn't read. Every single book in this house belongs to Reborn.

"Is something wrong?" Reborn asks in amusement.

"Nah," Tsuna says dismissively.

"Are you sure?" Reborn chuckles. "You always read Dante upside down when you're upset."

Tsuna says nothing as he flips the book right side up.

"Alright," Reborn hums, taking a sip of his drink. "But if you want to talk about this later then I'm going to ignore you. You had your chance, Dame-Tsuna, just remember that."

Tsuna lasts a minute before springing up and flinging the book aside. He pulls his feet off Reborn's lap and tucks his legs underneath him instead. "Okay, so I need to tell you something-"

"Too late."

"It's been barely a second!" Tsuna cries. "Come on!"

"Maybe next time I ask, you should just answer straight away," Reborn points out with no sympathy whatsoever.

Tsuna pouts at him. "Okay, fine. Then forget that, I need to tell you about _another_ thing. A different thing."

Reborn slides a sideways look at Tsuna but then rolls his eyes and accepts the lie. "Go on then."

"You can keep a secret, right?"

"Probably not," Reborn says simply, putting his drink on a side table.

Tsuna ignores this. "I work for Vongola, an off shoot of the Vatican that… hunts vampires."

A laugh is startled out of Reborn. He quickly stops when Tsuna frowns and manages to smother it into a smirk instead. "If you forgot what you were actually going to say, then fine-"

"No," Tsuna interrupts. "No, I'm serious."

"Oh," Reborn drags out in mocking realisation, having given up on getting a proper answer. "This is a kink."

"I hate you," Tsuna deadpans.

"Don't worry, Dame-Tsuna, I'm a generous lover. I can play along," Reborn purrs as he reels in the brunet, pressing their bodies close together. He suddenly gasps dramatically in a breathy voice. "No, please don't stake me, Mr. Vampire Hunter. I'll do _anything_ ~"

"Choke on it," Tsuna snaps, getting honestly angry now.

"That's going to be a bit difficult, because I'm real good at _sucking_ ," Reborn retorts in his 'damsel vampire' voice. Then he bursts into laughter.

"I'm staying at Hayato's house," Tsuna grumbles, slapping Reborn's hands away.

"Wait, hold on," Reborn tries, but he's unable to stop smiling. "If you really believe that, then all I can do is be supportive as you work though the problem with a psychiatrist."

Tsuna flips off Reborn and stomps out of the room.

"No, come back," Reborn chuckles, dragging himself off the couch in time to see Tsuna open the front door. He darts in and smoothly shuts and locks it again, trapping his lover against the wooden door.

Tsuna just pouts up at him, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm sorry if I'm being mean," Reborn murmurs, voice low as he lets his hands wander down Tsuna's sides to land on his hips. "I'm a bit insecure because... Tsuna, I've never told anyone this, but just the thought of garlic being thrown at me is a real turn on-"

Tsuna tackles Reborn down and aggressively cuddles the hitman as punishment because Reborn hates his suit getting messed up. Reborn pretends he doesn't like it, only so Tsuna will keep doing it.

His poor Dame boyfriend is so gullible.


	5. want

"That did not go as planned," Hibarin says.

The four brothers are scattered around their new mansion's ballroom, lying on the floor and waiting for the lethargic effects of being killed to completely wear off.

"Reborn," Fon murmurs, staring at the ceiling. "Re-born. Re-bo-rn. Reborn. R-"

"Could you not?" Alaude snaps. "I get it, you're obsessed. It's bad enough that you were dazed by him when we fought, I really don't need this at home too."

"Not obsessed," Fon denies easily, though he does accept that he was a bit off his game. "Just wondering if we could keep him as a more permanent guest."

"Like the pineapple does?" Kyouya asks, a disgusted expression on his face.

"Mukuro and Chrome are a good example," Fon agrees. "It would solve the problem of finding a new human every time we get hungry, which means we don't have to move as much, plus there's less evidence for hunters to catch on to."

"I haven't killed a hunter in a while," Kyouya hums. "We should go bite some to death."

"You know, you're the reason we have to move so much," Alaude deadpans.

"Speaking of moving," Hibarin interrupts. "What are we going to do about the hunters that are gathering? The place is starting to reek of them."

Fon waves a dismissive hand. "The only issue they present is a momentary distraction. None of them can stand up to us, no matter how many line up to die."

* * *

''Can I join?''

Byakuran, Xanxus and Squalo go dead silent. Their hands reach for their weapons and they stand with smooth motions. Reborn turns to find a tall blond walking up to their table with a beer in hand. The man pauses, looking a bit shocked at finding the three, but amusement soon wins out.

''Hey now,'' the blond one chuckles. ''I was invited by the Decimo himself, you know. There's no need for any hostility."

Xanxus scans the stranger and then grunts. "Grabs a chair, we're playing Poker." The heavily scarred man then leans into Reborn when the blond leaves. "Clean him out and we split the money, or I'm telling the fluffy trash that you slept with that redhead a couple months back."

Reborn cuts a glare at Xanxus but when Squalo and Byakuran start nodding he sighs and capitulates. Reborn is a faithful lover, but it's probably best to not push it since he does tend to flirt and that makes his love a bit insecure.

"It's all about team work," Byakuran whispers mockingly as the stranger comes back carrying one of the many shoddy wooden chairs that infests the bar.

Reborn clicks his tongue but does accept the cards that Squalo deals out. The stranger settles to his left, pressing close enough to touch his shoulder since Xanxus, Squalo and Byakuran all refuse to move and make room.

Assholes.

* * *

Early into the morning, the table roars with drunken laughter as Squalo tries to tell them an anecdote about sharks and eating people. It's not even that funny, they're just that drunk.

The rest of the Varia have arrived and the bounty hunters are currently scattered over the room, while Byakuran's few have stolen the cards and are playing Bullshit. Lambo has abandoned the bar to Fuuta and is chatting away with I-pin on another table.

The rest of the building is filled with an assortment of drunk and very loud men and women, who have learned to stay far away from the corner table and the kind of stories that are passed around there.

Squalo gasps, flailing a hand to make everyone shut up. "-said he had sex with a mermaid," Squalo wheezes out. " _Except the top half was fish as well_!"

They all cry out in disgust and fall over themselves laughing because it's just the right kind of wrong.

The door opens and lets in a freezing cold burst of air that makes several people loudly complain in drunken slurring. Reborn glances over at the noise and finds Tsuna weaving his way across the room towards him, followed by a large group of strangers.

The chatter slows and soon drops into silence as most of the visitors fan out around the bar, but a woman with dark blue hair and a man with red instead continue at Tsuna's heels. Colonnello quickly drops his cards and stands, looking a bit sheepish under the woman's stare.

"Hey," Tsuna murmurs to the table, strangely staying a few steps away from his lover when usually he would demand a cuddle. "Come on, it's time."

The building is efficiently cleared out in the next few minutes. Some of the people are shoved out into the street while most of the ones Reborn knows start to file out past a subtly hidden door behind the bar. The new visitors stay as well.

Reborn sighs and stands after throwing back the last mouthful of his drink. Tsuna steps aside when he passes, deliberately not looking at him as if Reborn was just a stranger. Reborn isn't surprised, this is what always happens when Tsuna meets 'old friends'.

If Tsuna wants to have a clandestine club where they play truth or dare and have pillow fights then fine, Reborn isn't going to be the kind of guy that demands his lover not have friends and only stay home to wait on him hand and foot.

However, if Tsuna insists on acting like Reborn is nothing (What, is Tsuna embarrassed? Ashamed of him because Reborn doesn't know the secret knock to the basement door?) then maybe Reborn needs to rethink the engagement ring he has hiding inside his gun cleaning kit.

The visitors pour through to the hallway further inside the building and Tsuna bursts into a sprint, barely catching Reborn just outside the door in the painfully cold breeze.

"Wait," Tsuna says quietly and pulls off his own scarf to wrap around Reborn's neck. "Stay safe, okay? Go straight home."

Reborn doesn't make a scene because he likes to think he's not that petty, so he smirks instead and pats Tsuna lightly on the head as he shoves the ugly feeling of not being wanted back down. He's drunk, that's all. Maybe he's reading the situation wrong.

(But this has happened so many times now.)

"Of course, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn hums. "Don't stay out too late."

Tsuna mumbles something that definitely isn't an agreement and gives Reborn a quick kiss on the cheek. He disappears in the next moment and the door slams shut after him.

Reborn is left standing on an empty street.

* * *

.

A/N: I dropped off the grid for a while there but the majority of my assignments and tests are over now so I should get more time to write.


	6. to

Tsuna slips through the hidden door that Hayato holds open for him and heads down the stairs with a confident stride that's all fake.

He stops at the bottom and scans the crowded basement, taking note of how the Shimon have gathered closest to the stairs to make a quick exit. The Arcobaleno are rather aggressively spread out across the entire room, their very presence screaming how much of a threat they are.

Tsuna's own men and women have split back into their smaller groups -Varia, Millefiore, and Vongola- and hover pointedly in front of the floor to ceiling shelves filled with weapons.

Tsuna holds back a sigh and makes his way to the front of the room where a map of the local terrain is hung on the wall. He retreats behind the large table covered in opened files and pastes a smile on his face, trying to look welcoming.

"Hi," is all that Tsuna can think of to say.

"Hi!" the purple Arcobaleno chirps back.

Tsuna can't help but grin at the other. Skull, he thinks the man's name is. "So welcome to Namimori. The town is pretty small but I hope you feel comfortable here for however long your stay is."

"What are your defences inside the forest?" Adelheid immediately shoots out.

Tsuna gestures at the map behind him and sidesteps so he's not in the way. "As you can see here, the blue pins indicate shelters."

"There are no blue pins," Colonnello points out.

"Exactly," Tsuna says easily. "That's because while vampires have had the gall to step into my territory before, they never last long." He really wants to tack on 'don't ask stupid questions' but that's just his competitiveness peeking its head out.

Tsuna points at the large red pin. "This is an old abandoned mansion that the Skylarks have nested in. It's tall and in the middle of a clearing so no blind spots for infiltration. The forest is dense and dark so they have the upper hand if we fight in the trees."

Tsuna goes on to specify the surrounding area and the resources they have regarding hunter equipment. He summarises the Skylarks' history plus methods and the order given by the Ninth, then finishes with an open floor for anyone else to contribute more information.

Shimon doesn't take up the offer, most likely because they have nothing else to add. The Arcobaleno stay silent, but from the guarded expressions on their faces it's more due to lack of trust in the rest of the room.

Tsuna doesn't take it personally since he remembers a rather famous hunt of theirs where they almost lost a member because of a mole in the hunter sect they were working with.

"Alright then," Tsuna hums. "So what are you all thinking as a plan of attack? Just a brief overview so we can iron out any obvious issues."

"It's better to lure them out," Enma says.

"To where?" Lal scoffs. "To this town where civilians will get in the way? We'll ring the property with a herb barrier and smoke them out of the house."

"Herb barrier?" Julie echoes sceptically from the Shimon huddle. "And they'll just stay inside while we do this? No, we'll lure them into the town and use dead man's blood traps. They won't be able to find us if we move between the buildings."

"Where people will get in the way," Viper drawls. "I'm not being paid enough to deal with your idiocy."

Tsuna purses his lips as they descend into several split arguments that they shout across the room, dragging Tsuna's hunters into it. He lets this go on for a while so it's out of their systems. Hunter groups really don't get along well since each sect thinks they're better; an unfortunate side effect of no communication between them.

"We could set up an ambush in the forest," Verde plans with the other Arcobaleno, clearly ignoring everyone else shouting around him.

"They'd see that coming a kilometre away," Squalo sneers, cutting into the conversation.

"Not if we send in an innocent little civilian," Colonnello half jokes. "How about that guy we were playing cards with? He seems like he knows how to have fun."

" _No_." Tsuna snaps, practically a snarl.

The room abruptly goes dead silent, everyone turning to him in confusion, not sure which argument he was following.

Tsuna breathes in and tries to calm himself. "No one touches Rebo-" he cuts himself off and starts again. "No one uses civilians as bait."

"Is he trained?" Colonnello asks.

"He's no one," Tsuna says firmly. "He's not to be approached and definitely not involved in this."

"Who is he?" Lal wonders.

"A guy playing cards," Colonnello explains. "His name is Reborn."

Verde hums, adjusting his glasses. "I think I've heard of a Reborn before."

Enma leans forward. "If he's trained but the vampires don't know him-"

Tsuna slams his hands down onto the table with a loud _bang_ and the ominous _cre-eak_ of wood straining. "We _do not_ involve _untrained_ and _unknowing_ civilians. Break this rule and I break you."

Tsuna's glare sweeps over the room. "This meeting is to pass along information only. We will not be working together, that'd be a disaster and a half. Just make your plans and share them so we don't trip over each other's feet. Other than that, run free."

Tsuna straightens up. "If no one has anything else to add then go home and think of several plans so we can meet later and discuss them. And please, for your sake, stay the _fuck_ away from my Reborn."


	7. deal

"Smells of hunter in here," Fon murmurs, his voice well below human range of hearing. He carefully shifts on his perch at the edge of the human's bed, watching the man sleep peacefully despite his broken arm and damaged ribs.

"We should steal him now," Hibarin says, hand hovering over the human's heart.

"Boring," Kyouya huffs. "I want to fight him again." He leans forward over the bed with an eager glint in his eyes. "Let's wake him up."

"We need to do research," Alaude contests. "He's certainly not a hunter, he just shot us and left. But this house reeks of hunter equipment – just look at those knives." He gestures to the wall rack.

"Hunter lover," Fon sighs. "That makes things more difficult. If we take him now, they won't stop following us."

"It seems to be a high-tier hunter as well," Alaude mutters, now scanning the trunk of armour and herbs that he pulled out from under the bed.

"I'll just bite them to death," Kyouya deadpans. "You're making this far more difficult than it has to be. Why make plans? Why be subtle and sneak around when no one can stop us, regardless of if they see us coming or not?"

"It'll make things difficult if we charge in head first," Alaude explains. "We can force our way, and that's the backup plan, but it's less of a headache if we-"

The brothers freeze when they hear almost inaudible footsteps come to a stop outside the house. They give each other looks and then quickly slip outside the window, turning into dark shadows that flit across rooftops.

Tsuna locks the door behind him when he gets inside and toes his shoes off quietly before making his way to the bedroom, hoping that he won't wake Reborn up. He comes to a halt when he sees the open window – more importantly, the bag of herbs that always sits on the windowsill is now knocked into the corner of the room, probably knocked away by the rock that lies next to it.

Tsuna rushes across the last few meters and throws off the blanket, making Reborn blink awake sleepily. The hunter runs his hands along Reborn's neck and down his shoulders, needing to make sure there are no marks. He yanks down Reborn's pyjama pants as well and slides his hands along the inside of the man's thighs, checking the femoral artery there.

"Okay," Reborn says, suddenly awake despite the late hour. "Yes, I would love some sex with you, Dame-Tsuna."

"Did you move the herbs?" Tsuna asks, barely managing to keep the panic out of his voice as he unsheathes the knife at his hip.

Reborn blinks into the darkness at the sound of metal scraping against its holster and he sits up. "You mean the weird 'natural therapy' things?" Reborn wonders as he lazily tugs his pants up. "No, I have not moved your bags of weed."

"It's not weed," Tsuna snaps, scanning the room desperately because _some fucker just broke into his house and watched his boyfriend sleep._

"Is something wrong?" Reborn asks, genuinely concerned at this point because if Tsuna was scared of a 'ghost' sound then he would have crawled into bed with Reborn, not palmed his knife with a murderous expression.

"Reborn, get up and get dressed," Tsuna orders, moving to place the bag on the windowsill again. He slams the knife through the bag and into the wooden frame so it stays this time before closing the window. "There might be someone in the house."

"I think I would have woken up," Reborn scoffs. "Dame-Tsuna, I woke up when you opened the front door. There's no human alive that can get past me."

"They're not human," Tsuna snaps and wrenches a gun off the wall rack, tossing it at Reborn. "Get the fuck up, I need to put you somewhere safe."

Reborn catches the gun without looking, his eyes narrowed on Tsuna who slips out of the room to check the rest of the house. "Did you just swear at me? Because of your vampire kink?"

" _It's not a kink_!" Tsuna snarls, storming back into the room now that he's sure nothing is inside. He grabs Reborn's upper arm -not his injured one thank God- and drags the man out of bed.

Reborn stumbles, shocked because he didn't actually allow himself to be dragged – Dame-Tsuna literally has the strength to manhandle him.

That's so hot.

Reborn drops the gun onto the bed and shoves Tsuna up against the wall, locking lips. Unfortunately, Tsuna does not want to play right now and shoves Reborn right back when usually he would melt into a puddle of goo.

"Just a quickie?" Reborn suggests hopefully.

* * *

Reborn frowns at Xanxus, who frowns right back from across the dining table. Leon also frowns from his place atop Reborn's fedora, but that's mostly because he thinks it's a game and wants to join in.

The hitman is now stuck inside the other man's house, which is now overrun by Tsuna friends who all caress their weapons and look distinctly angry when they have no right to. Reborn is the one who didn't get any Tuna-lovin'. Reborn is the one up at three in the morning with an aching arm and ribs.

Reborn is the only sane one here.

"Did he put you up to this?" Reborn demands of Xanxus. "Did he seriously ask you to play along with his kink? Is there an orgy in the near future that I have to worry about?"

Xanxus scowls even harder. "Everything will go a lot smoother if you don't sass me."

"No sass here," Reborn denies. "I'm honestly asking if I have to seduce you to let me go. I mean if Dame-Tsuna says I can, then I want to lick every one of your scars."

Byakuran finally breaks down in laughter and has to leave the room.

Reborn wastes another few minutes in a staring contest before he sighs. "Could someone please just show me the slightest bit of solid evidence that vampires exist?" Reborn asks. "Maybe a cadaver with non-human traits?"

"We burn all the corpses so they don't come back," Lussuria says. "Plus, they have the same anatomical qualities, it's just the physiological that's different."

Reborn slants a look at him. "Wow, how convenient."

Lambo rolls his eyes. "Look, literally almost everyone you know is connected in some part to the hunter community. Can that many people be wrong?"

"You're completely right," Reborn says instantly. "As long as a large number of people are doing it then everything they believe in must be correct. You know, thirteen million German soldiers marched for Hitler-"

"Don't you fucking start with that shit, Reborn," Squalo snaps.

"Let me list suicide and murder cults for you," Reborn sneers. "Would you like it in chronological order or alphabetically? Actually, let's shake things up a bit and do it by severity instead."

"It's not like that," Zakuro tries, looking to the doorway Byakuran disappeared through and hoping the albino comes back.

"Then give me evidence!" Reborn cries in frustration. "I'm not asking for much, just something unbiased, something solid that isn't only your faith."

"Faith is all we can give you right now," Tsuna says.

Reborn looks over his shoulder at the reply only to see Tsuna enter then, the ever loyal Hayato and Takeshi walking alongside him. He nods and people file out of the room, leaving just Tsuna and his prisoner. The brunet sits down in the seat next to Reborn and the older of the two slumps, the frustration leaving as soon as he has Tsuna beside him.

"Are you going to uncuff me now?" Reborn asks, holding up his bound hands. He does not want to tell anyone about his broken arm, but he definitely needs these handcuffs off since they've already damaged the healing limb quite significantly and it's really starting to hurt.

"Are you going to try and escape?" Tsuna shoots back because Reborn skipped off several times on the way here, once for an espresso and then the other times were just so Tsuna would chase him.

"Are you going to keep me hostage?"

"Are you going to be difficult?"

"Can we have sex now?"

Tsuna sighs. "No, Reborn. Because someone just broke into our house and could have killed yo-"

Reborn honestly tries to keep a straight face but he starts laughing before Tsuna can even finish the sentence. Tsuna, the sweetheart that he is, waits patiently for Reborn to get control over his hilarity.

"Okay," Reborn begins, ignoring his now even more aching ribs. "I know I haven't told you much about my life before I came here, but in the mafia I'm known as the World's Greatest Hitman. And baby, I _earned_ that title."

"Against humans-" Tsuna tries to argue.

"Hold on, hold on," the hitman interrupts. "Let's just ignore the whole vampire thing right now. You and your friends are here to… protect me. Except all of you are human, and it's already proven that I'm the best human killer. It stands to reason that anything you can do to fight, I can do better – or at least I can counter it. Which means that I'm still the strongest and it's entirely unnecessary to protect me."

Tsuna frowns. "I hate it when you make sense." He then shrugs carelessly. "But also, I'm in charge here, so you stay handcuffed until I say so."

Reborn sighs heavily. Well his arm is probably not going to heal correctly, if at all.

* * *

.

A/N: I hate illogical people so much, so writing the above arguments about evidence and Reborn needing to be protected really pissed me off, but Reborn can't believe it yet because it has to hit him at the most inconvenient time.

So basically I'm just torturing myself.


	8. with

"Have you encountered anyone…" Tsuna trails off. "Anyone suspicious lately?"

"You mean someone with fangs?" Reborn drawls. "Maybe a red cape? Blood down their chin? Laughing evilly? Belphegor does those last two a lot."

"No, just – forget about vampires, okay?" Tsuna tries. "You're right, it's a kink, let's move on. Did you see anyone suspicious last night? Anyone following you this past week?"

"It's _still_ night time," Reborn argues. "And I'm going to need some espresso if you want to do this right now. Really, who's dick do I have to suck to get some coffee – oh, Byakuran."

The albino winks at Reborn as he steps into the room and drops off two mugs onto the table. "This one is free, but the next time…"

Reborn smirks. "Every hero should get a reward."

Byakuran debates continuing flirting with Reborn but Tsuna's glare seems to be stabbing the albino in the back, repeatedly. Byakuran nods and leaves the room quickly.

"I was just playing around," Reborn promises Tsuna. "I'm sure I wouldn't even like sucking his dick."

Tsuna scrubs a hand over his face. "Drink your coffee."

Reborn obediently drinks his coffee.

"Did you see anyone?" Tsuna asks yet again.

Reborn keeps sipping his drink, trying to stall. Should he tell Tsuna? It'd make him worry, and Reborn doesn't want that. But Tsuna would be more reassured if he knew that the threat is currently rotting in the gutter the next town over.

"I was attacked by four men, probably related," Reborn admits. "But it's been taken care of."

Tsuna bites his lip, fiddling with his own mug of coffee. "Did you use the bullets that I gave you?"

Reborn shakes his head. "Your ones are so pretty, I don't want to waste them."

Tsuna sighs. "Regular bullets can't kill them. They're…" Tsuna really doesn't want to say the word 'vampire' again because Reborn is going to make fun of him. "…nightwalkers."

"Why are you scared of prostitutes?"

"I said _night_ walkers, not streetwalkers!"

"Dame-Tsuna," Reborn begins seriously, sitting up straight. "I need to tell you something," he admits quietly. "I'm … a hitman. I kill people for a living."

Tsuna blinks at him. "We first met when you were in the process of killing someone, and you take great pleasure in announcing your occupation to everyone we meet…"

"It's nice that you're taking this so well," Reborn says, still with that soft tone like Tsuna is going to call him a monster and walk out on him any second. "Now it's your turn to tell me what job you have. Seriously this time."

Silence descends for a long, long moment.

"Hey, you know what?" Tsuna chirps. "I woke you up rudely, didn't I? You should go to sleep – come on, up you get."

Reborn raises an eyebrow.

Tsuna purses his lips. "It's not important right now. I – I don't want to involve you. I want to keep you safe."

"Do I need to kill someone?" Reborn asks seriously. "What can I do to make you understand that I'm the dangerous one? If someone tries to hurt us then that's the last mistake they ever make."

"I know," Tsuna promises. "I know, Reborn, but this is different. You're not trained for it –"

"Just tell me what it is. I can decide for myself if I can't handle it."

" _I can't tell you!_ " Tsuna screams, shooting to his feet. "Because you'll insist on protecting me and I'm the one who's supposed to be protecting you! _I don't want to be the useless one anymore!_ "

Reborn stares up at Tsuna with surprise and then his expression softens. "Why do you think that?"

Tsuna swallows thickly and sits down again. "You're good at literally everything. This entire relationship is built on me doing something wrong and you coming to fix it. And people stare at us, wondering why someone like you is lowering himself to be with someone like me."

"That's not what's happening," Reborn denies gently, wrapping his arms around Tsuna in comfort. "You're the one who keeps me from getting kicked out of this place – do you know how many people I piss off on a daily basis? And the only reason they stare is because you're the most beautiful, kind person they've ever seen."

"You bought the house," Tsuna starts listing. "You cook the food, you help me with training, you're the only reason Xanxus and Byakuran listen to me, you protect me every time I stumble into someone dangerous, I probably would have died on the trip to my parent's place out of sheer incompetence if you weren't with me-"

"Tenth!" Hayato cries, bursting into the room. "The Arcobaleno are downstairs, demanding to know what's happening."

Tsuna sucks in a sharp breath and swipes a sleeve over his eyes to make sure nothing shows. Then he ducks away from Reborn's arms and stands. "Thank you, I'll come down now."

"Tsuna, wait," Reborn says, catching a wrist. "We need to talk - Hayato, tell them to leave."

"No, it's fine," Tsuna murmurs, shaking the hand off. "We'll talk later, I promise. Get some sleep."

Reborn frowns as he watches Tsuna's slumped shoulders disappear downstairs after Hayato. Tsuna hasn't had one of these episodes in a while. Reborn though it was getting better but apparently, Tsuna has just been bottling it up.

Reborn needs to put an end to this. He hates seeing Tsuna so sad.


	9. your

"Why are you here?" Tsuna demands, not even half way down the stairs.

Lal raises an eyebrow. "We've been keeping track of you," she says like an 'obviously' should follow. "You started scrambling around so we assumed that the Skylarks made a move."

"It's being handled," Tsuna says, walking right past them and to the door. "Thanks for worrying but we're fine." He opens the door and holds it open pointedly.

The Arcobaleno don't move.

Tsuna slams the door shut and glares. " _What do you want?_ "

His hunters shift in response to his anger, gripping weapons. The Arcobaleno don't seem wary despite being surrounded and outnumbered, dismissing them all as weak.

"I remembered where I heard the name 'Reborn'," Verde says. "People say he vanished, bored with being the best."

Reborn freezes, crouched on the upstairs landing with handcuffs long gone, out of sight but close enough that he can intervene if someone attacks Tsuna. Are these people mafia? Is Tsuna in the mafia? It'd definitely be a possibility; maybe Reborn just never heard about him or his friends because they run in different circles.

Tsuna scowls. "I told you to leave him alone."

"The World's Greatest Hitman is your boy toy," Viper deadpans. "Why haven't you used him?"

"I prefer the term boyfriend, thanks," Tsuna hisses. "And I don't _use_ him because he isn't a hunter, isn't trained for it."

Lal scoffs. "Not trained? Italy doesn't have a vampire problem because the Vatican hired a certain hitman and insisted that he only use special bullets to kill his targets or he won't get paid. I'll give you three guesses as to who the hitman is."

Reborn shakes his head, not surprised that these people have interweaved facts into their cult delusion. He just hopes that Tsuna hasn't actually killed a 'vampire' because the poor man will cry when Reborn finally snaps him out of it.

Colonnello holds out his hands as if trying to present a peace offering. "Look, we don't want to cause trouble, but it's only logical to use all of your resources."

Viper nods. "The Skylarks don't know him, but he's not untrained either - he's the perfect bait. Just have him bleed on a shirt or something and we'll deal with the rest."

Tsuna takes to this idea 'well'.

Before he can kill anyone, the Shimon burst through the door and start throwing out accusations of the Vongola and Arcobaleno having private meetings without them. Skull blurts out their findings on Reborn before anyone can shut him up, so then the Shimon and Arcobaleno start ganging up on Tsuna about using his lover as bait for four very dangerous vampires.

They just keep pressing the issue until Tsuna snaps and throws them all out, telling them that if they're sighted in his town again, there will be _no hesitation_ before he deals with them.

Tsuna likes to think that he's a reasonable man but if someone so much as looks at his Reborn then he'll slit them open from throat to asshole.

Tsuna does retroactively understand that maybe that isn't so reasonable after all, but he doesn't give a single fuck.

* * *

Reborn moves away from the landing quietly as Tsuna's friends try to calm the brunet down. Okay, so either everyone is insane or Reborn needs to have an open mind.

Clearly, everyone is insane.

That doesn't matter, but Reborn can use it to fix the little issue of Tsuna feeling so useless. The threat is a group of people like the brothers Reborn killed. The damsel in distress is Reborn. The hero is Tsuna.

Just a few quick chapters and Reborn will ride off into the sunset with his adorable lover in his arms. All he has to do is play along with their delusions.

* * *

"Chaos."

The Arcobaleno startle and whip around to find Reborn leaning against a tree with a cloth bag hanging from his fingers, literally just a few metres from Skull. How the hell did they not notice him?

"We're already leaving," Lal snaps. "There's no need for the Decimo to send someone."

"The vampires have been following me for a few days," Reborn begins, pushing off the tree and wandering into the middle of the group to stand before Lal. "I'm the best bait you have. And if I get involved, the Vongola has no choice but to intervene and follow your plan as well."

Verde adjusts his glasses. "But if we get caught doing this-"

"Then don't get caught," Reborn deadpans. He pulls out some fabric from the bag, one of his button up shirts.

Viper leans forward to see better, because in the setting sun there's a large patch of black on the bundle of cloth.

"Is that blood?" Skull blurts out.

"Set up a trap," Reborn orders. "Xanxus' house doubles as a high security jail so take them there – even if they somehow get out, there'll be at least a dozen people in the building at all times. Plus, if you capture one, the rest will come."

He drops the shirt back into the bag and tosses it to Lal before leaving without another word. Hopefully they manage this because Reborn doesn't want to use his backup plan.


	10. weird

Fon skids to a halt on a tree branch, head snapping around to find the scent of blood. It's nothing special, just regular human. AB plus, male.

Fon hums to himself. None of his brothers will want to drink that, but Kyouya and Hibarin might be bored enough to play with the injured human.

Fon takes off in that direction, becoming a red blur in the thicket of green leaves. He slows as he gets closer and then stops again as a very familiar scent hits him.

"Reborn," Fon murmurs.

It's faint, like something Reborn has simply held onto for a long time, almost drowned out by that subpar blood. Why would Reborn be so deep into the forest? It's too easy, almost a-

Fon catches a shift in the forest below. Someone hidden, scent completely covered. Hunter. Fon hides the smile and instead drops off the branch and lands lightly on the ground. He walks at a slow pace to the small shed overrun by vines that the scent is coming from.

It's a small wooden shed with open windows, probably made only to store some woodcutter's equipment. It's definitely a trap, Fon knows, but if he plays along then he might get to see Reborn again.

Fon knocks politely on the shed's door. "Hello? Are you okay in there? I smell… blood."

* * *

Reborn rolls over in Xanxus' bed, only dressed in his slacks and button up while his suit jacket is hanging on a chair back and his hat is upside down on the bedside table so Leon can sleep inside it.

Xanxus doesn't have a guest bedroom so they just dropped Reborn in here. Most of the people have left to go catch 'em all, leaving a couple of the Varia bounty hunters and a very bored hostage.

Reborn blinks. Is Tsuna a bounty hunter? And the term 'vampire' is slang for target? Reborn used to call his hits 'lovers' because he thinks it's funny, so it makes sense, but then why would they make such a fuss about special bullets?

Reborn groans and rolls again, almost falling off the edge of the bed.

After everyone left, he snuck out to find the blond man he played cards with since they proposed having Reborn as bait. He made a quick pitstop to stab one of the homeless guys wandering around and coat his shirt in the blood. He's not really sure how they'll use it as a lure but whatever, just play along.

Reborn now needs to wait maybe a day and then sneak out with a costume on. No one will know that Reborn is the supposed vampire that they catch, and no one will question him breaking out of Xanxus' weird sex dungeon in the basement. Tsuna will just so happen to be the one who 'kills' Reborn and then the hitman will swap out with the homeless guy's corpse.

The end. Everyone goes home happy.

A sudden crash downstairs makes Reborn lift his head and peer at the closed and locked door (as if that could keep him inside). What the hell are the Varia doing down there?

* * *

Fon gets jostled around in the metal box they shoved him into. It's a titanium mix so while he isn't burning alive, it still stings. He's also waist deep in the disgusting herbs hunters use to keep vampires away. It's draining his energy but that's fine, Fon can take them all on regardless.

The box shakes once more and then goes still. Are they finally done moving him around? Fon is a little impressed because the box plus Fon must weigh quite a bit yet the hunters dragged it all the way from the forest to wherever the permanent cage is going to be.

Something clangs shut and then the metal box unfolds with jerky motions into its flat form, spilling herbs everywhere, ready to be buried under some more dirt to catch another vampire. Fon blinks into the daylight streaming through a high window across the room. He steps out of the pile of herbs around his knees and observes the jail cell they've put him into.

Walls lined with dead man's blood and titanium bars. How creative, Fon thinks sarcastically.

He takes a seat on the floor and crosses his legs, planning on meditating until the hunters stop gawking at him from a safe distance away.

* * *

Reborn slips on his shoes and climbs out of the second storey window to the ground outside. He creeps around the corner, staying low so the remaining Varia don't see him from where they're gossiping in the kitchen. He then drops to his knees beside the small basement window very close to the ground.

Some poor sod probably saw a bloody shirt and went to try and help, only to get kidnapped instead. Reborn thinks a normal person should feel guilty, but he thinks it's funny. One day, he'll reminisce about this with Tsuna and they'll laugh.

Reborn can't see through the frosted window, but he knows the jail cells are on the opposite side of the room from the window. He also knows that everyone in the house is on the ground floor, so it should be clear.

He takes a small knife from a holster at his ankle and slips the blade under the window pane. It unhooks the latch on the second try. He then digs his nails into the wooden frame and pulls until the window slowly rises out towards him in increments. It's a tiny opening, short and barely wide enough, but Reborn is very slim.

He turns away and backs into the room. He slides his legs in easily enough but has to wiggle to fit his hips. It probably looks ridiculous, but whoever got kidnapped is going to die soon anyway so Reborn doesn't care.

His hips go through and then he pours himself the rest of the way. He holds onto the window with his fingertips, makes sure nothing is beneath him, and then drops the remaining half a metre to the ground.

If Tsuna was here, he'd start applauding Reborn, because he's an enabler.

Reborn brushes himself off and turns to take in the jail cell. The man Reborn killed a few days ago is staring with something like desperate hunger in his expression. The man's hands are bubbling and bleeding where he's gripping the bars, but he doesn't even seem to notice the horrific injuries.

Reborn takes an unconscious step back and the man's eyes flicker to a deep red.


	11. vampire

Fon smiles, showing rows of serrated teeth. "Hello," he says lightly. No need to scare the human off right now.

"I slit your throat open," the human says like it's an accusation. It technically is.

Fon shrugs. "I'm not upset."

The human looks like he doesn't quite know what to say to that. "Your hands are burning."

"They do that around titanium," Fon admits. He can feel them, the flesh burned away, right down to the bone, but it isn't important right now. "My name is Fon. It's so nice to see you again, Reborn. That's your name, right? It was etched into the barrel of your gun. It's a beautiful gun, by the way. _You're_ very beautiful."

Reborn purses his lips. "I'm… going to go."

"I'm sorry, was that too forward of me?" Fon murmurs, eyes narrowed as Reborn turns to leave. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Reborn scoffs, whirling around to scowl at the other man. "I'm not scared, I'm just rightfully cautious of someone who recovered from a _knife to the neck_."

"But I'm not dangerous. What can I do here?" Fon asks innocently. "These bars are titanium, I can't touch them without burning."

"You don't seem to mind the burning," Reborn points out.

Fon snatches his hands away from the bars, his large sleeves falling over the damage and hiding how they instantly start regenerating. "But now I'm crippled. I can barely move my hands. Please, I won't hurt you."

"I really think I should go," Reborn says again but he doesn't move this time.

Fon tilts his head. "Don't you want to know what I am?"

"Vampire," Reborn says but it's more like a question.

Fon knows, both from Reborn's reaction to seeing him, and the hesitant claim just then, that the human has no idea what's going on. Fon can use that. "Of course not," Fon dismisses, deliberately backing away from the bars. "Vampires aren't real."

The human shifts to lean forward, abruptly a lot more accommodating now that his denial of vampires is confirmed, but he's still wary. "Then what's with the red eyes and teeth and _melting flesh_?"

"This is a higher form of war," Fon explains. "Chemical, biological warfare. There are man-made monsters out there. I… I am the first of my kind."

It's not really lying, just separate sentences that are all truths. Fon isn't at fault if Reborn assumes that these things are connected in some way.

Reborn is fascinated -obsessed, as he always is- with this new form of death. "I heard Estraneo was making ESPers. I killed a few but they weren't much." He looks at Fon with new eyes. "Are you one of the later stages? No, you said first of your kind, so you're a new experiment. What mutations did they give you?"

"Come closer," Fon bargains. "This information can't leak, I have to make sure no one is listening at the stairs."

"No one is," Reborn states but he does move forward, stopping a few metres away.

"Really? Anyone could hear if I told you now."

* * *

Reborn rolls his eyes and then just struts right up to the bars and crosses his arms across his chest (gently, always gently because his arm is starting to ache from his adventurous escape out of Xanxus' bedroom).

Fon is pressed against the back wall of the cell with half disintegrated hands, he's clearly not a threat.

Fon nods. "The truth is-"

Reborn jerks back but Fon is already at the bars again, reaching through, his arms sizzling as they press against the titanium. His miraculously undamaged hand grabs a hold of Reborn's right forearm, the unbroken one, and yanks it into his cell.

Reborn is slammed against the bars and he snaps out a curse, reaching for the gun tucked away in his hip holster. He fumbles the gun because of his injured arm and Fon has time to bite down hard, straight through Reborn's shirt sleeve.

Reborn grits his teeth and takes aim despite the awkward position but his hand is shaking because of the goddamned broken bone and Fon dodges, slamming Reborn against the bars again because the man still has Reborn's arm in his mouth. Fon catches Reborn's other wrist and yanks it through the bars as well.

"Fuck," Reborn chokes out when Fon twists it and the healing bone breaks again, shards grinding against each other. The gun clatters to the ground. His other arm is gushing blood from the bite and he can see the asshole gulping down the blood.

Reborn has really messed up.

"Shit," Reborn hisses, jerking away as hard as he can. "Xanxus! _XANXUS!_ "

Reborn hears his name shouted back but he's more focused on Fon finally letting go of him. Reborn staggers back and falls to the concrete floor at the abrupt lack of pull and immediately scrambles up, backing away. It's fine now, the bastard can't get out. It's all fine.

Fon licks up the blood that spilled onto his lips and then bends down to pick up Reborn's dropped gun.

Fuck everything, Reborn thinks. He darts for the door -because he is not getting out of the window with his injuries- and pushes through the frankly excruciating pain in his arms to turn the handle. It doesn't open of course because why would the door out of the jail be unlocked?

He hears the muffled retort of his silenced gun going off and then the _clang_ of a bullet hitting metal. Fon is shooting the lock off the cell door.

Reborn really wishes he had his gun right now because he'd be able to kill himself and stop this humiliation. He is better than this. What is wrong with him today? He should still be able to take that bastard on, despite the broken arm and the sleep deprivation.

On the other side of the soundproof door comes the faint noise of people shouting and storming down the steps. Reborn knows, from snooping around, that it takes an eight-digit number code to get in and the reader takes five seconds to acknowledge the right code and then unlock. They're going to be too late.

Reborn turns around and sighs heavily when he sees Fon just simply kick the door open and step out.

"I apologise," Fon says with a serene smile. "It was the only way I could think of."

Reborn's answering grin is all teeth.

 _I am so sorry, Tsuna._

 _I love you._

* * *

.

A/N: I know barely anyone follows this but it's a really calming story to write.


	12. kink

The basement is quiet except for Tsuna's broken sobbing.

He clutches Reborn's abandoned gun tighter to his chest and thinks that maybe if he was a little faster coming back to Xanxus' house, a little better at warning the Arcobaleno off, a little stronger, a little smarter.

If Tsuna was a little less _Tsuna_ then maybe his love wouldn't be dead right now.

Byakuran flies down the steps and bursts into the basement, eyes wide as he takes in the puddles of blood and the way everyone hovers silently around a crumpled Tsuna, trying to provide support.

"What are you doing?" Byakuran blurts out. "Are you seriously going to cry to yourself while Reborn has to fight off vampires?"

Hayato glares at Byakuran. "Why would they leave Reborn alive?"

"Wouldn't you?" Byakuran wonders. "If I was a vampire I'd keep him for blood _and_ sex."

Tsuna's sobbing cuts off abruptly. He slowly turns his head to pin Byakuran with a terrifying glare even with the tear tracks down his cheeks. " _What the fuck did you just say?_ "

Byakuran shrugs. "Look, I'm not the one moping around while my boyfriend is being eaten. You know, in some capacity."

Tsuna stands in jerky motions, hell fire in his eyes. Everyone wisely moves out of his way and then follows along behind as Tsuna stomps up the stairs.

Tsuna sucks in a breath and wipes away his tears. "Lambo, go get the Shimon. Ryohei, grab the Arcobaleno. We're going to need a distraction."

* * *

Reborn wakes to a heavy weight over him and a sharp, burning pain in his shoulder. Reborn jerks to the side and the platinum blond lying on top of him rears back, evidently surprised Reborn is awake.

Reborn slams a knee and then a foot into the blond's stomach, rolls off the dusty mattress he's on and then follows up by slamming into the man's chest with his uninjured shoulder. They both tumble towards the broken window showing the beginnings of a sunset.

Reborn uses the last bit of strength in his arms to grab the blond's shirt as they fall and haul him up just a bit, just enough so the back of his neck lands on the left-over shards of jagged glass still sitting in the bottom of the window sill.

Reborn drops to the floor, gasping at the headrush that hits, struggling to keep the nausea from bloodloss at bay and gritting his teeth from the pain of multiple injuries.

Vampires. Okay, fine. Whatever. Reborn is adaptable.

He takes a moment to just settle back into his body. His ribs did not like that tackle at all. His left arm is completely broken and thus completely useless. His right arm still aches from the bite but it's not unbearable. Both arms are now bandaged in crisp white. The new wound on his shoulder still stings, but it's slowly going numb and it's not bleeding that much, so at least it won't be a distraction.

Reborn hauls himself up into a sitting position with his back against the wall and the window above his head. It takes more effort than he's comfortable with, and he knows this is going to be a difficult job. He pats himself down just to cover his bases but all of his weapons are definitely gone.

Reborn tears a strip off the blond's shirt -because Reborn's clothes have suffered enough- and starts bandaging his shoulder.

The window is tempting him. He knows this forest well, it wouldn't be a problem to find his way home. Take a nap, cuddle Tsuna, then come back when he's recovered and gouge out the very viscera from these gutter trash bastards.

But he can't, he hasn't given up on his original plan. Tsuna can still be the hero and save Reborn - it just needs to be adjusted a bit, that's all. Reborn will kill two more but leave just one, so when Tsuna arrives the rescue will go a lot smoother with far less variables to worry about.

Reborn is the strongest, this shouldn't be too hard. Fon was... Fon got lucky. Reborn was already heavily injured when they met the second time so it doesn't count. He won't be caught off guard this time, the situation is entirely under control.

A twitch makes Reborn tense and snap his head around to find the movement. The blond man, neck pierced straight through with glass and body half suspended with limbs akimbo, is twitching a finger.

Fuck all of this supernatural bullshit. No. No, Reborn refuses. He has never met a person he can't kill and his record is not going to be broken now.

Reborn staggers up and looks around the bedroom to find a useable weapon. The floor is littered in dirt and leaves, blown in through the window over the decades that this place has been abandoned. There's dust everywhere, creating a stale air despite the open window, and weeds have sprung up from the mattress while the wardrobe has been taken over by moss.

Reborn picks his way through the room and then drags the bedside table over to the blond with one hand. He climbs on top, hoping the rotted wood can take his weight, and then stomps down on the blond's face. This is not at all graceful but Reborn is suffering severe blood loss right now and he's down one arm, so he has an excuse.

It takes a while, with many breaks in-between because of Reborn's bone deep exhaustion, but eventually he gets there. The glass shards in the blond's neck sink deeper and deeper with every hit until finally the head rips straight off. Reborn slips with the abrupt give but manages to angle himself so he falls onto the floor of the room rather than on the jagged glass.

Reborn squeezes his eyes shut as the world spins in dizzying circles around him. The headless body slowly slips down now that the neck isn't pinned and with a heavy thump it finally drops from the broken window because of its weight. One down, two to go.

God, the crazy things Reborn does for love. Tsuna better appreciate this.

"Alaude?"

Reborn turns to face the doorway just in time for one of the twins to step into view. Followed by the other twin. Followed by Fon.

"Give me a minute," Reborn tries.

* * *

When the hunters reach the mansion they immediately fan out. The steps are silent, the scent is covered, and they flicker in and out of sight as they weave between trees.

"I'm coming," Tsuna mutters under his breath when he finally reaches the starting point. He checks his gloves are on tight enough and taps impatiently at the metal backing on his knuckles.

After a while, Hayato gives him a nod. The other teams are in place.

"Alright." Tsuna turns to his hunters. "If I don't hear them screaming then you're not doing a good enough job."

* * *

.

A/N: I underestimated my silent reader count XD. Hi everyone! Here's a suffering Reborn to enjoy~


	13. Dame

It doesn't take long for the noise to reach Tsuna. The Arcobaleno and Shimon were told to charge in from the other side of the building, drawing attention to the side of the mansion closest to Namimori. They'll pour through and cause as much damage as possible to the building so the vampires can't ignore them.

"Go!" Tsuna calls out to his three groups.

Varia takes the left, Millefiore goes right and Tsuna takes his Vongola straight through. Hunters usually stick close in groups, but since the Arcobaleno and Shimon are causing such havoc, Tsuna's groups all scatter to cover as much ground as possible.

Ryohei batters open the side door and Tsuna's group pours through into a large kitchen. Hayato and Lambo rush off onto a spiral staircase while Ryohei and Takeshi duck into the adjacent dining area. Tsuna darts out into a narrow hallway and keeps sprinting, passing multiple doors.

Reborn once said that the easiest place for him to defend would be a library. The tall shelves filled with books would block the view and any gaps would be too small for anyone to shoot him through, but his impeccable aim wouldn't be affected.

The heavy shelves would also force people into moving a certain path and since Reborn has always been very good at predicting people, he can circle around them and take them out. If necessary, Reborn can climb up the shelves and spot anyone moving around the maze beneath him.

Libraries also echo well so Reborn could camp while he listens for where his targets are, and since there are usually huge windows to let in natural light, it doesn't matter if they cut the power and try to hunt him in the dark. On a night like this, the brightness of the full moon casting light through the window will be an advantage.

Tsuna sees large double doors cracked open slightly, revealing towering shelves scattered with moth-bitten texts, and doesn't even hesitate before he slams them all the way open with a shoulder, entering what might have been a library decades ago.

"Reborn!" Tsuna shouts out desperately.

No reply. Tsuna darts along the length of the room, squinting through the faint moonlight to peer into each aisle.

There's – there's blood, everywhere, on the rotting shelves and the remaining abandoned books. It's fresh.

"Reborn, please, I-I'm here now," Tsuna chokes out.

Tsuna hits the end of the large room and looks around wildly. Maybe he missed Reborn? Maybe Reborn is lying somewhere, unable to answer because of blood loss? Tsuna rushes down one aisle and walks slower as he searches the room again from the opposite side. The tears don't help. It's too late. He's too late.

"I'm so sorry," he sobs to the silent room. "I promise I'm here."

A shadow steps out of an aisle up ahead and into the moonlight. Reborn stares back at Tsuna with most of his white button-up shirt soaked in blood and one arm cradled to his chest. He's injured but alive.

"Reborn!" Tsuna cries and lurches at him for a hug, desperately clinging to the hitman.

Reborn sighs and buries his face into Tsuna's fluffy hair, his body slumping into the hold. "Idiot."

"That's a bit rude," a new voice chimes in.

Tsuna whips around and shifts his stance protectively in front of Reborn. One of the Skylarks in a long red tunic is standing a few meters away, the moonlight to his back so it's throwing his face into shadow. It makes his glowing red eyes even more sinister.

"Thank you for leading me to him," Fon says politely. "I was afraid we'd be playing hide and seek for hours."

It takes a moment to hit Tsuna. The vampire wasn't able to find Reborn, probably because the hitman smeared his blood over everything, so the scent spread. Then Tsuna charges in, running around like an idiot, calling for Reborn, and of course the hitman steps out to comfort Tsuna.

Tsuna doesn't have time to wallow in the self-hatred that bubbles up inside him. He scrapes the metal knuckles of his fists together, lighting the gloves in deep orange flames just in time to block a kick. Tsuna is still thrown back from the blow but he rolls over his shoulder when he hits the ground and stops in a low crouch.

The vampire smiles with lengthened teeth. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Decimo."

Reborn hurls a half-disintegrated book at Fon, who catches it, but the dust cloud that envelopes his head is enough of a distraction anyway.

"Come on!" Reborn yells, already running for the exit.

You should never turn your back on an enemy unless they're on the ground and not getting up again anytime soon. Unfortunately, this is a do or die scenario.

Tsuna isn't far behind, sliding Reborn's usual gun out of a hip holster to pass it along, when a hand latches onto the back of his hoodie. Tsuna chokes when the collar cuts into his neck. He tosses the gun to Reborn and wrenches out a knife instead but Fon dodges back from the stab.

Tsuna whips around to face the vampire, his gloves still on fire, which slowly spreads to the custom knife that starts sparking.

"I've got it," Reborn says, steadily pointing the gun he caught at Fon but not firing. He doesn't want to risk running out of ammo while the vampire shrugs it all off. "Walk to me and we'll both leave at the same time."

"Go find Lussuria," Tsuna orders. "I'll deal with this."

Reborn hesitates.

"I swear to you, Reborn, I can handle him," Tsuna says seriously. "Please, go find Lussuria and get your injuries taken care of."

Reborn grits his teeth. "Tsuna, you can't. I haven't weakened him enough. I – come here, okay? I love you so much, but I know your limits and you _can't_."

Tsuna just tightens his grip and lunges forward.

* * *

.

A/N: Half of me wants Reborn to go with Fon because I ship them so hard that the Aussie navy couldn't take me down, but then little Dame Tsuna would be so sad and they're cute together as well.

Or Fon and Tsuna could take each other out and Byakuran, that special snowflake, could slide right in. (I know I don't write him a lot but the psycho marshmallow is one of my favourite characters and I think he deserves some baby 'Born as well XD.)

Ah, decisions, decisions...


	14. Tsuna

Fon spins around the attack, but his following hook kick misses when Tsuna ducks. Orange flame clashes against blood red shadows as Tsuna forces Fon away from Reborn.

They destroy shelves in their wake and when Tsuna gets too careless the fire leaps from his fingers and onto a pile of knocked over books. Tsuna isn't sure how long they've been trading blows but going by the ache of his injuries, and the fact that half the library is obliterated with three shelves taken over by fire, it's been far too long.

Tsuna slides the knife blade coated in herbs through Fon's bicep but gets thrown into a wall in reply. Fon grabs Tsuna's hair and lifts him up, but Tsuna twists, hair being ripped out painfully, and the punch towards his ribs just narrowly misses. Tsuna grabs the fist with both hands and hauls Fon over his shoulder, smashing the vampire onto the ground despite the rest of his hair that gets pulled out.

Fon rolls backwards over his shoulder, slamming a double kick into Tsuna's stomach before flipping onto his feet. A shower of bullets rips through the vampire, making him stumble and snarl in pain and anger. His head snaps to where Reborn is slinking along behind the shelves.

Tsuna smashes an old metal chair into Fon and despite the vampire's arms blocking most of the blow, he staggers back. Fon grabs the chair and wrenches it out of Tsuna's grip, but the hunter follows up with a roundhouse kick and Fon is launched backwards.

Directly into the pile of burning books that have swiftly turned into an inferno.

"Tsuna!" Reborn calls out, braced against the shelf. It's half tipped over but it's too heavy for Reborn alone when he's this injured.

Tsuna limps around to where Reborn is and they shove hard, desperation fulling them as Fon lurches up, the flames eating away at his flesh.

The shelf goes down on top of Fon's head and the fire roars, doubling in size as even more dry wood and paper is added to it. The shelves tip over one by one like dominoes and the fire races along the new path.

Tsuna and Reborn rush from the room because while they should stay to watch if Fon manages to escape, the fire is getting far too dangerous to be this close.

Tsuna doesn't realise when Reborn's hand slips into his, but he holds on with all that he has.

* * *

Tsuna presses a kiss to Reborn's temple as the horizon turns pink with the sunrise. The hitman is lying back against Tsuna in the grass, a good distance from the inferno that has engulfed the mansion.

Lussuria is just packing away a medical kit after patching up Reborn. They'll go back soon and get Shamal to do it properly, but first they're waiting for a car because neither of them will make it back through the forest on foot.

The other hunters are still hanging around since they need to watch the fire to ensure it doesn't go out of control – anymore than it already has.

Byakuran drops to a knee beside them. "The jeep is waiting on the trail," he says. "Maybe a five minute walk… if either of you can even walk."

"I can limp," Tsuna offers up tiredly.

"I've made peace with the fact that I'm sleeping here tonight," Reborn sighs, already half asleep. "I mean this morning. Whatever."

Byakuran purses his lips. "Right. Bulldozing through to here, it is."

"Don't break the jeep," Tsuna says but doesn't protest past that.

Byakuran leaves again and Tsuna goes back to cuddling with Reborn. Soon enough comes the sound of Squalo cursing loudly while the bushes rustle in protest but inevitably get run over.

"I'm not apologising for the 'vampire kink' jokes," Reborn murmurs after a while.

Tsuna lets out a tired laugh. "I wasn't expecting you to."

Reborn turns to peer up at Tsuna. He smirks. "You saved me." He rubs a cheek against Tsuna's shoulder because he's too tired to move more than that. "My hero."

Tsuna smiles softly. "Does this hero get a kiss?"

"No."

Tsuna splutters.

"But there's a ring in my gun cleaning kit," Reborn hums sleepily. "Will you marry me?"

"Uh," Tsuna says quietly, eyes going wide. "I'm – yeah. I want to."

They kiss under a picturesque sunrise, kept warm by the burning inferno, surrounded by exhausted hunters after murdering four vampires.

That sums up the chaos of their lives neatly.

* * *

Hours later, the hunters are still there, stomping through ash and warped metal struts that still emit an uncomfortable heat. Hayato curses viciously and kicks at the ashes of what was once a ballroom.

"Nothing," Levi scowls as he glares at a burnt-out husk of a bed frame.

No bodies, no bones, no anything. There should be something. It caught fast but burnt out just as quickly. A house fire like that would not have completely destroyed all four corpses.

Xanxus wipes away sweat and leaves streaks of black ash on his forehead. "Get Byakuran to set up patrols in the town," he says to the remaining Vongola. "Varia, with me, we'll comb through the forest."

Hayato scowls as he punches in the number for Byakuran's phone. "We can't find the fucking bodies," he snaps out as soon as it connects.

Byakuran sighs dramatically. "Patrolling it is," he groans. He soon grows serious. "You want me to tell Tsunayoshi or are you going to call him as well?"

"I'll…" Hayato trails off. "Not now. Let them rest for now."

* * *

.

A/N: We're finally done! Thanks for reading!

To **saint . rhapsode** : Ah, a person after my own heart. I only hurt them because I care... You shouldn't tempt me though, this almost ended with Tsuna tackling Fon into fire and sacrificing himself while Reborn watches, then Fon would have survived anyway and poor Reborn would get fucked over.

To everyone else: What part did you like the most? Would you want to read more stories like this; quick and cute?


End file.
